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From the Editor: Don't boo 2022! |
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To those who are unfamiliar with the Avatar Wiki newsletter, this is a free-for-all submission system that truly relies on you to keep publishing. If you're anything like me, you also wouldn't mind being part of a fancy blog feature on Avatar Wiki's home page just for submitting a sophisticated ramble in style! See those two huge, obvious buttons above me? One click is all it takes for your journey to glorified publishing to begin... We WILL see you in our article submission office. We will. You know you want to. |
Howdy, Avatar Wiki!
You have likely read something about Delta, Omicron, Megatron, or whatever else COVID feels like transforming into before you ever looked at this post. It's unfortunate that we're getting trolled so long by the pandemic, but don't write off 2022 as a lame year just yet. There are lots of gears turning in the world of Avatar and major releases that are finally coming to fruition. In addition, our online community has been anything but quiet - let's see what they're up to below, shall we?
Happy Reading, folks!
Kia Ora, fellow Avatar fans and wiki friends! And Happy New Year to you all!
In many ways, 2021 felt like the sequel to 2020 we never asked for, and although there's always ways to find light in the darkness, it has been a tough year for many I'm sure. But like all trilogies, the final chapter does give us hope for the future. A number of experts have suggested that even if the tail of Covid-19 doesn't leave us for some time, this year in 2022 could be the end of the pandemic. And we've seen great advances in treatments and vaccines, not that any of that should let us become complacent, but at least there's hope that the worldwide situation with Covid-19 could show some signs of improvement this year. But those of us who are part of the Avatar fandom also have reason to rejoice. 2021 gave us some brand new content, and exciting announcements of releases set for 2022 and beyond. For starters, we had the announcement of Avatar Studios in February last year. After the success of The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra on Netflix and Paramount+, the studio was created with Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino at the helm. While details are still scarce, there's been mention of a film with the same art style as the original series (2D animation/CGI hybrid), as well as a television series. Both creators have mentioned they feel like with the current level support and creative freedom they have they'll be able to make any Avatar project they can think of, so it looks like we'll be getting new content from Avatar Studios for some time yet. There's also the Netflix live action series. While Konietzko and DiMartino left the project due to creative differences, the live action series is still going ahead with Albert Kim announced as the showrunner in March 2021. We had casting and production announcements throughout 2021, and production officially began in November last year. There was also the fake meme going around about the series being a 'highschool alternate universe' story, though these rumours were debunked. While it's not certain when the show will be ready, 2022 will hopefully see some further details and announcements shared with us. 2021 also gave us some new comics: Suki Alone, Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy, Clearing the Air, and Matcha Makers, the latter two as part of Free Comic Book Day. Dark Horse Comics have also announced the release of Aang's Unfreezing Day in May, and Patterns in Time in June this year. And we've also had other content announced or released in 2021. The Last Airbender Cookbook: Official Recipes from the Four Nations made it to our kitchens on November 23rd, 2021. Created by chef Jenny Dorsey, the cookbook featured signature dishes from the four nations and written in-universe style, with characters giving commentaries along the way. Beasts of the Four Nations was set to release in February 2022, though it has been delayed with no release date given as of yet. It's one that I'm looking forward to myself. The Quickstart of the Avatar Roleplaying game Avatar Legends was released in August 2021, which contained rules for the creation of characters and a pre-generated campaign, The Forbidden Scroll. The digital copy of the game's core book is set to be released early this year, while physical copies in Summer 2022 (northern hemisphere, that is). And finally, the Braving the Elements podcast premiered on June 22, 2021, on iHeartRadio. The podcast is hosted by Janet Varney and Dante Basco as they rewatch The Last Airbender, and also feature a number of cast and crew members joining them on the show. There're probably some other releases that I've forgotten about; I'm not the most up to date with franchise releases. But when I see all these new and upcoming content, I can't help but feel a little surreal and nostalgic. Who would have thought that the cartoon I used to watch every Saturday morning as a ten-year-old would still be around years later, with new content being released? I mean, I did grow up in a household where Doctor Who and ABBA were frequently celebrated, both of which seem to keep going on for years after their debut, but still seeing the franchise alive and growing into other artforms and releasing new content is something I never would have expected after the first series ended. And of course, the hope is that with the increase of the franchise releases we'll also see our fandom grow too. Because that's what so awesome about a place like the Avatar Wiki; the chance to meet others who love the same franchise we do, and the chance to celebrate it together. While we don't know exactly what 2022 will hold, we can take heart and enjoy the franchise that many of us hold dear. So, let's give 2022 our best battle-stare and a triumphant "Yip-Yip," as we take off into the new year!
On behalf of Amy (AmyJamiC on Discord), Master Collector of Avatar Merchandise, we're showcasing 5 of her treasures per BSST Issue She generously shares her dedication to collecting merchandise in our Discord community and always reminds us how deep the love runs from Avatar fans. We thought it would only be fitting to bring that beauty to our newsletter to share with the Wiki as well.
Without further ado:
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What started out as a friendly competition, turned into a wiki-wide contest of epic proportions.
And no, we're not talking about shipping wars, but a battle of Avatar trivia... The Avatar Trivia Showdown! For those not on the wiki Discord server or who may have missed it, the Avatar Trivia Showdown (ATS) is a competition held every month or so, where wiki and Discord users go head-to-head in a trivia contest. The questions are submitted by everyone, and the contest run by our gamemaster PhoenixWright12321 and Editor in Chief Minnichi. Last year, we saw seven epic showdowns between contestants, plenty of memes and trash-talk, and several users emerge victorious. And 2022 is only going to get better... But before we get to that, let's take a brief recap of the contest so far. You can watch some of the live recordings on our BSST Youtube channel here.[1] See here for more information about the competition!
Season 2 What will the future hold for the Avatar Trivia Showdown? Semi-finals? Sudden death? Who can beat Zacatero? Will he tap-dance his way to the final against PhoenixxWright12321, 'He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things'? Or will another user rise to the challenge? Stay tuned for more
Here's our latest question for you lovely folks! A big thank-you from the BSST staff to those who participated. We typically reach out on the Avatar Wiki Discord channel to conduct surveys. Missed your chance but want to catch us next time? See you in the chatroom ;)
"What new Avatar franchise releases are you most looking forward to in 2022?"
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One of the hardest concepts to explain is originality. You tend to hear the same fan fiction ideas over and over again. Evil Avatars, twin Avatars, and so on. To be fair, there are a lot of elements of writing that are best learned through experience, so it might be preferable to do a non-ideal idea instead of not doing anything at all. Even so, a major goal in my articles is to encourage people to branch out into new things, so here are some tips to try to do just that.
First, look around to see if something's been done. It doesn't take too long to put "twin Avatars" into a Google Search and see that's a very common idea. Of course, the internet is a huge place, so you're likely to find some hits no matter what. This isn't to say that you shouldn't do something if anyone's done it before; rather, it's to get a sense of just how common that something is. If that something is very common, that makes it harder to stand out. Of course, some concepts, like romantic pairings or Avatars' journeys, are so broad that they're essentially always going to be relevant, but it still helps to find a new and interesting way to do them. So, second, if you really want to do something that's been done a million times, consider how to put a different spin on it. One twin is jealous or each twin has half of the elements are very common spins on the idea of twin avatars. Maybe, instead, one of your Avatars doesn't realize he's a twin because, when he was born, the spirits took his sister to limit the power of humans. At the same time, you have a feral, barely-human woman growing up in the spirit world with extreme spirit powers. After the man realizes he has a twin, he searches for a way to get into the spirit world to rescue her. The woman, meanwhile, is plagued by visions of her brother and, thinking he's an enemy, will probably attack him when she first sees him. This gives you a unique dynamic to explore and a built-in conflict. Of course, this is just one example, the key is to ask what you can do with twin Avatars that nobody else has. Usually, for third, I would say don't just do examples people give. One of the things that makes explaining "do something new" so paradoxically difficult is that, if I give an example and someone else just uses that example with zero modification, that isn't really doing something new. Ideally, these examples inspire your thinking rather than serve as a template to copy. However, just to be clear, you should consider any of the ideas in this article free to use if you want to. Whether you do or not, try to think about what you can add to develop your own sense of originality. Now, suppose you have an idea that not a lot of people are talking about. The challenge here is that you need to build it up and won't have a lot of help because people aren't all that interested in it yet. One thing you could do is try to drum up interest by discussing your ideas and seeing if they get people intrigued. One thing this gives you is a conversation to bounce ideas around. The more you discuss your idea, and the more you're quizzed on it, the more you can develop it. This also starts building an audience whom you can show your work when you publish it. This is something I've had a lot of success with; when I started writing Avatar stories that delve more into science fiction, there wasn't much interest, but opinions are changing on that, and I think part of the reason is because I've been so persistent in showing that this can actually work really well. This can be a long process, so if at first it doesn’t work, you can look to other sources of information. For instance, I found it odd that the Si Wong is so underdeveloped when, historically, there have been many very powerful desert civilizations. So, I developed the fanon that there was once an ancient sandbender empire, which I based on civilizations like Egypt and Sumeria. Documentary shows on deserts were an invaluable source of inspiration to me. To be fair, let's address my basic assumption that writing should focus on original ideas in the first place. You could rightly point out that one of the reasons certain ideas are so common is they are much more likely to be read. At the risk of sounding harsh, chasing an audience and improving your writing aren't always the same goal. Professional authors will often tell you that the industry is more about reacting to trends than it is necessarily writing stories that are near and dear to them. Still, I think it's worth taking the time to improve as a writer, even if it's just as a hobby. Unless people decide to write them, we won't see new stories in underutilized genres like mystery, sci-fi, and horror, and that’s a real shame. One thing you can do is reserve one-shots and side stories for more experimental stories so you can see what works and direct it back into your main stories. In this way, you can develop both the skills of pandering to a crowd and developing original writing simultaneously, and having an area in your writing set up to do experimental ideas can help you test out if your audience would like to see more of them. Another possible objection is that people may be writing for fun, not approval or improvement. You should definitely keep in mind your goal. If you want to write about twin Avatars for personal reasons, don't let me stop you, but hopefully I've made the point that you can do that and still write a unique story with some new perspective or angle to add. It should be noted that these articles reflect my opinion of things I would like to see that improve the fanon space. However, I also hope they are genuinely helpful at improving people's writing. In my experience, people want to write something ambitious but don't necessarily know how. I don't aim to discourage them: It can often be best to just start somewhere, even if you're not sure of it. Even if you don't get the response you want, you can still strive to improve, if only to write the best version of the story you want to write.
Reviews and Interviews have long been a part of the Fanon Portal. In 2011, BlackMonkey established the Fanon Review Squad, a user group who would take requests from fanon authors to provide critique and advice for their work. In 2012, the Fanon Fact Finders were a usergroup created by PreservationsWings, though their role was to provide interviews and a chance for authors to discuss their fanon to a reader audience.
Eventually in 2019, these two usergroups were merged into the Fanon Research and Review Squad we have today; a group of knowledgeable and dedicated users, who review fanons and interview their authors, to better promote their stories and give advice. Interest in the FRRS has come and gone, as activity in the fanon portal does too, and I'll be the first to admit that our inactivity in the FRRS hasn't helped. Though interestingly, in 2021 we saw as many new requests as the previous three years combined. Granted these are all still low numbers of requests and it's all relative, but with the fanon portal gaining activity in 2020 and this increase in requests, it's possible that maybe users are more interested in getting reviews and interviews or the FRRS in general. We recently put out the same question on the wiki Discord, but I write this article to invite everyone to share their thoughts here too. Are users interested in getting fanon reviews and interviews? If applications were opened, would people be interested in applying to join the FRRS? Reviewing and interviewing can be a really fun process and useful too. I've found getting to read a number of stories and being introduced to different writing styles and genres can be helpful for my own writing. The critiquing part also gets you to view your own work in the same way, which helps with editing my own work, and you definitely grow in the process. When I look back at some of my earliest reviews I do cringe a little XD, but I also see how much of my thought process and things I'd focus on have changed over the years. I also feel like I was too harsh with my wording back then, but it's always going to be a tricky balance between giving constructive advice while affirming someone's work. I've also been challenged with the interviewing part. When I first did some author interviews for the BSST over video chat I was pretty nervous. I'm definitely an over-planner, and the idea of a more fluid interview where questions could change worried me a lot XD. I actually had a good time, and it challenged me to be a little more go-with-the-flow (well, as much as someone like me can be XD). I also did a proper FRRS interview with Neo Bahamut in the previous BSST issue, and that was pretty enjoyable. There are downsides to being with the FRRS too. I find that on the wiki I don't get to just read fanon when I want to; most of my reading time is dedicated to catching up on requests. And life can get hectic which prevents you from keeping up with requests. But all in all, I'd say the FRRS has heled me immensely as an author, and I hope that I've also helped those users too. Because at the end of the day that's what it's about; helping other authors and getting to know their work. So is the FRRS for you? We haven't decided whether applications will open, but if there seems to be enough interest in joining and the group in general then it's something we'll consider in the near future. Let us know in the comments if you'd be keen! |
Please note that this review contains spoilers. I'll always try to keep them at a minimum, but I like to give the most constructive advice I can which means using specific examples to explain the points made. Happy New Year everyone! Today I'm with the Fanon Research and Review Squad to review Powers Saga, by Katrinasforest and Raptorrowan. I'll be looking at the first book Switched Powers, and then reviewing Hidden Powers in another blog.
The story is rather compelling and a joy to read through, and there's also some accompanying artwork which adds to the reading experience. So how did Switched Powers do with the scores? Let's dive in!
Score: 8.33/10 Conclusion: The way that Powers Saga: Switched Powers explores these characters and themes really stood out, and I'm looking forward to finishing the next book. The story felt like a logical next step for Zuko's character growth, and something that really could have happened after the Hundred Year War. Switched Powers is a great example of an Alternate Universe fanon that challenges the main characters and explores them in a realistic and memorable way. I'd recommend this fanon to anyone who enjoys adventure style stories with a dash of humour and romance, and an exploration of deeper themes.
 The Last Airbender brought us a compelling and emotional story, with many character arcs and themes woven through the three books. But what about characters outside of the main cast? What was their story before and during the Hundred Year War? Avatar: Macai's Journey is a fanon that tells such a story. Macai is the son of the General Eyre, a successful military general in the Fire Nation army, and struggles with living up to his father's expectations. The story begins a year before the events of The Last Airbender, and explores Fire Nation culture in more depth as well as the events after Smoke and Shadow. General B.H. has written 48 chapters so far and is a reliable author, releasing chapters consistently. He also adds to the experience by having character pages and original artwork, giving readers the chance to engage with his work in other ways alongside reading the fanon itself.
Avatar: Macai's Journey
Plot Overview Young Macai, son of General Eyre, is trying to live up to his family name by becoming one of the greatest Fire Nation leaders of all time. His father constantly pushes him to be the best warrior and officer he possibly can be. Despite this, Macai has an internal conflict within him that he will need to overcome to be his best self. Macai has also romantically fallen for Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. This attraction gives Ozai a reason to use Macai as his own personal tool. Ozai doesn't care for the relationship but, seeks to test Macai to see how useful he might be in the future.
Here you'll find the latest fanon news and requests from the community. You can also visit the FRRS for an interview or technical review, or the Fanonbenders for help.
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Check out some of the latest fanart from our Wiki and Discord community!
Original artwork by King Bumis Heir - Zhongli Jianju
Original character design: Jianzhu by Sam Lee Wins [4]  | |||||||||||||||||||
What's a newsletter without random time-killing puzzles and games? This here is an interactive puzzle that allows you to move the pieces of the image around until they all click together. Find out which iconic image we've pulled from the series, and see who gets the best time!
Click here to complete the interactive jigsaw.  |
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